Bishop Eddie Long’s Accusers Speak Out On His Death

Find out what they had to say.

After a long battle with cancer, Bishop Eddie Long of Dekalb County’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church passed away at the age of 63 on Sunday. As news of his death spread like wildfire, the question on everyone’s mind became: what do the young men who accused the Bishop of sexual coercion have to say about his passing? New reports say they’ve spoken out – sort of.

“We’ve been hearing from people from all walks of life — the media, celebrities, gospel singers — wanting to hear what we think,” said Spencer LeGrande, one of four former New Birth Missionary Baptist Church members who filed suit against Long in 2010. A fifth accuser, Centino Kemp, came forward as the lawsuit entered a mediation process. An undisclosed financial settlement was reached soon after.

The young men maintain they’ll remain silent for now, but will address his death in their upcoming book. The site continues:

LeGrande, now living Charlotte where he co-owns a thriving sneaker cleaning company, and two of the plaintiffs, Maurice Robinson and Anthony Flagg, told The AJC Sunday that when the time is right, they’ll have their say.

“As much as we’d like to make a statement about the passing of Bishop Eddie Long, we’ve all decided to remain silent, for now,” Long’s accusers said in a joint response given exclusively to The AJC. They said Jamal Parris, the fourth former New Birth member to sue Long, also consented to the statement.

“We’re all brothers in this,” LeGrande said.

Their statement concluded, “Our perspectives will be addressed in our book, Foursaken, which we hope to release soon.”